Sometimes, the best taste of freedom is a bitter one. Just ask the men and women of Southern Sudan. For 50 years after colonial rule, a combination of civil war and sharia law prevented them from enjoying a locally produced beer.

Now, as the autonomous region embarks on its final steps to independence, they have White Bull.

White Bull, a 4.2 percent-ABV lager made with water from the Nile, may not be rated on BeerAdvocate yet, but Rice’s article makes clear that the brewery, built by SABMiller, has been a welcome boost for an area that suffered through decades of war:

When peace finally arrived five years ago the region was as undeveloped as any inhabited place on Earth. There were no paved roads, no electricity, no treated water, and no industry.

Everything from soap to bottled water had to be imported. Even the University of Juba, which had been one of the few examples of development in the south before the war, had been relocated to Khartoum.

Conditions have since improved. The region’s capital of Juba is the scene of other new development in addition to the brewery. Rice reports that, “Most of the town now has tarred roads and minibus taxis are ubiquitous.”

And people have embraced their local brew.

Together with Nile Special, another brand produced in the Juba brewery, White Bull has captured two-thirds of the mainstream beer market, selling 2.5m bottles a month, at 70p each.